Import exemption under Notification No. 11/97-Cus. cannot be denied by a later circular adding actual user conditions.

Import exemption under Notification No. 11/97-Cus. could not be denied by reading in an actual user or end-use bond condition that the notification itself did not impose. The Tribunal noted that the CBEC circular dated 06.10.1998 was applied prospectively, so it could not be used to add a new restriction to imports made before that date. Relying on earlier decisions, it held that imported insole sheets covered by the relevant entry for use in the leather industry remained eligible for the exemption, and the later circular could not defeat the benefit.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 11/97-Cus. for the imported insole sheets without being subjected to an actual user condition or end-use bond condition, particularly when the CBEC circular imposing such conditions was issued after the imports.

Analysis: The imported goods were specifically covered by the notification under the relevant serial entry for goods used in the leather industry, and the notification itself did not impose any additional condition of actual use or end-use bond for the said goods. The CBEC circular dated 06.10.1998 was relied upon by the department, but the Tribunal noted that the circular had been held applicable only prospectively from its date of issue. Since the imports in the present case were prior to that date, the circular could not be used to add a new condition and deny the exemption. The Tribunal followed the earlier decisions taking the same view and held that the benefit could not be defeated on the basis of a later circular.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 11/97-Cus., and the actual user condition could not be imposed to deny the exemption.

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